Douluo Dalu 4: Ultimate Fighting

TL: GoldenLung

Lan Xuanyu gave a wry smile. “Captain, we really had no choice. You know what we’ve done—if we hadn’t shut off our signal, we might’ve been discovered by the enemy. But I believe the news we’ve brought back this time is all good. May we request permission to return to the warship?”

Yan Xinghe snorted. “Permission granted. Let’s talk once you’re back.”

With the communication cut, the Thirty-Three Sky Wings warship flew toward the Seventh Fleet’s formation. Four shuttle ships came out to receive them. Lan Xuanyu took the initiative to shut down the warship’s propulsion, weapon, and defense systems, allowing the four shuttle ships to tow their vessel toward Dragon Three.

After all, they had been missing for so long—a thorough inspection was inevitable. Powering down all systems and making themselves completely vulnerable was their way of proving they had nothing to hide.

The warship was towed directly next to the Dragon Three escort ship and drawn into its hold, which then sealed shut.

Once the warship had docked, Lan Xuanyu saw through the main screen that Yan Xinghe was already waiting outside. No other senior officers from Dragon Three were present.

The hatch opened, and Lan Xuanyu was the first to disembark. He quickly stepped forward, stood at attention, and saluted Yan Xinghe.

Yan Xinghe returned the salute and then gestured with a wave of his hand.

Lan Xuanyu calmly raised his arms and accepted the inspection.

After the checks, the soldiers reported to Yan Xinghe that everything was normal. Though his face was still stern, Yan Xinghe beckoned Lan Xuanyu and turned to board a vehicle.

Lan Xuanyu hurried after him and entered the same car, while the other six boarded a separate one.

The doors closed, and the vehicles moved off smoothly.

Lan Xuanyu sat upright and silent.

Yan Xinghe glanced at him. “So you’re playing the obedient child now? Just looking at you, who would believe you’re capable of such insane actions? Do you even realize the pressure you’ve put us under?”

“I was wrong, Captain. I’ve caused you trouble.” Lan Xuanyu looked sincere and spoke respectfully.

Yan Xinghe had come prepared to chew him out, but seeing his humble demeanor, he found it hard to stay angry.

“You have nothing to explain?” Yan Xinghe asked angrily.

Lan Xuanyu replied obediently, “Wrong is wrong. I have no excuse. I truly made a mistake, especially by causing you trouble. You must’ve borne a lot because of me. I’m really sorry.”

“I…” Yan Xinghe was speechless. The attitude was too good—it made him feel off-kilter for some reason.

“Hmph!”

The vehicle took them directly to the Dragon Three command center. Yan Xinghe walked ahead, his face now calm again, with Lan Xuanyu following. The others were not brought along and were returned to their quarters—clearly a decision made by Yan Xinghe.

Inside a small conference room, Yan Xinghe waved his hand, and Lan Xuanyu quickly shut the door and stood at attention.

Yan Xinghe stood in front of him, staring intently.

After a long moment, Yan Xinghe suddenly smiled.

Looking at the young man in front of him—wearing a star-marked uniform, face still a bit youthful and beautiful like a girl, with clear eyes—how could one not like him? Yan Xinghe even had the absurd thought: if only I had a daughter, I’d marry her to this kid.

Just by appearance, no one would believe what this boy had done.

This was someone who would drop an antimatter bomb at the slightest provocation—or blow up a planet when in a bad mood.

Yan Xinghe’s smile turned into a headache. If only I hadn’t taken this hot potato in the first place!

He stayed silent, and Lan Xuanyu said nothing either, standing with perfect military posture.

A few minutes later, Yan Xinghe sighed and said, “Fine. Sit.”

“Yes, sir.” Lan Xuanyu sat down with a straight back, ready for a lecture.

Yan Xinghe looked him over. “Honestly, if not for the Spaceborne Clan’s fleet fully mobilizing, I wouldn’t believe you really blew up their most important resource planet. Never mind how you got in—but just doing it takes massive guts. According to footage from our recon ships, Dragon-Horse Planet Seventy-Six has shrunk by a third and drifted off its original orbit. The Spaceborne Clan somehow managed to tether it with their homeworld’s gravitational pull to keep it from turning into a massive meteor.”

Lan Xuanyu blinked. He hadn’t known that. They had left immediately after detonating the bomb.

“So you blew up a planet. A resource planet. That’s quite something!” Yan Xinghe gave him a thumbs-up.

Lan Xuanyu knew this wasn’t praise and stayed quiet.

Yan Xinghe took a deep breath. “The Federation’s been fiercely debating this incident. Most opinions are negative. Our only defense is that Dragon-Horse Planet Seventy-Six’s destruction caused far greater loss to the Dragon-Horse Galaxy than to us. The Spaceborne Clan has essentially lost its future development potential. Now, tell me—can their Space Origin Crystals still be regenerated?”

Lan Xuanyu replied, “It’ll be very difficult.”

Yan Xinghe sighed. “You destroyed a cosmic treasure. It’s thanks to those crystals that our space technology advanced so quickly. Even though they’re rare, we could still occasionally obtain a few. In fact, one of our negotiation conditions for withdrawal after winning the war was access to those crystals. And now you’ve blown up the planet. While we use the crystals differently than the Spaceborne Clan, they’re just as important to them. The Federation didn’t dare to directly attack them for fear of starting a full-blown war—and then you went and did this. The Federation’s negotiators are under immense pressure.”

Lan Xuanyu asked, “How are the negotiations going?”

Yan Xinghe shook his head. “I’m not sure yet. Originally, the Dragon-Horse Galaxy was expected to yield, but now… it’s hard to say. All we can do is deny that it was our doing.”

Lan Xuanyu said, “Then I suppose I’ve helped create a new opportunity for negotiations. Captain, has the Spaceborne Clan’s fleet withdrawn and stopped attacking us?”

Yan Xinghe was surprised. “How did you know? Two days ago, without warning, the fleet that had been engaging us in skirmishes suddenly withdrew. They’re bigger than we expected—over a hundred ships with space-jumping capabilities, extremely elusive. We thought it might be a trap, but they haven’t shown up since.”

Lan Xuanyu smiled slightly. “They probably went to Celestial Dragon Planet. I have some critical intel to report.”

“Speak,” Yan Xinghe said, heart trembling—yes, trembling. The last time Lan Xuanyu said he had critical intel, it ended with a planet getting blown up.

Lan Xuanyu began, “Here’s what happened. After leaving Planet Seventy-Six, we didn’t return right away for fear of implicating our fleet. So, we went to Celestial Dragon Planet.”

“What?” Yan Xinghe cried out, unable to stop himself. “You went to Celestial Dragon Planet? Are you crazy?”

Lan Xuanyu coughed. “Captain, please let me explain. While we were on Planet Seventy-Six, we successfully infiltrated it. We discovered that the Space Origin Crystals seemed to be generated from Magic Silver. We followed the clues and found the storage site for the crystals, but it was heavily guarded by god-level beings, so we couldn’t take any. I planted a bomb there—one that could be remotely detonated—as a last resort. Later, we found a liquid related to crystal production. It emitted intense space fluctuations. We carefully extracted some and tried soaking Magic Silver in it after leaving the planet, but it didn’t work. It seems only Planet Seventy-Six’s unique environment can create those crystals.

He paused, then continued. “Blowing up Planet Seventy-Six was a rash decision. At the time, we couldn’t locate our companions and thought our ship had been discovered and destroyed. So I detonated the bomb. We didn’t expect the Space Origin Crystals to explode as well and destroy the entire planet. That outcome was unexpected. I know I made a mistake—didn’t gain anything but caused the Federation huge trouble. That’s why I wanted to make amends—by going to Celestial Dragon Planet.”

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